sanborn



(No Model.)

W. H. SANBkORN. MUZZLE FOR ANIMALS.

No. 522,696. Patented July 10, 1894.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. SANBORN, OF RUTLAND, VERMONT, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO M. A.BOURNE, OF SAME PLACE.

MUZZLEFOR ANIMALS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 522,696, dated July 10,1894.

Application filed February 3, 1892. Renewed June 5, 1894. Serial No. 513591. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM H. SANBORN, acitizen of the United States,residing at Rutland, county of Rutland, State of Vermont, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Muzzles for Use on Horses, Oxen,and other Animals, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to such improvements, and it consists of the novelconstruction and combination of parts hereinafter described andsubsequently claimed.

Reference may be had to the accompanying drawings and the letters ofreferencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification. it

Figure 1 of the drawings is a side View of my flexible combinationmuzzle, with the bottom removed, on the horses head. Fig. 2 is a sideview of my flexible combination muzzle, with the bottom adjusted aboutthe nose of the horse. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the muzzle,showing the chains attached to a nose-band provided with attachments forconnecting it to a halter, and with rings to which the bottom may beattached, and restricted at the lower ends by being attached to alateral chain connected at the ends to form a loop through which thehorse may eat or drink, and also restricted by being connected withother lateral chains to form a mesh through which a horse cannot put hisnose. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the removable bottom, providedwith attachments to permit it to be confined up to and about the nose ofthe horse, and with holes through it to permit of ventilation.

It is well known that horses are addicted to the following habits, whichlessen their value to a certain extent and cause a degree of annoyanceand expense to their owners: Some horses will tear and destroy blanketsand bandages with their teeth; some will crib by placing their teethagainst mangers, posts and other objects; some will gnaw mangers,stalls, posts, trees, &c.; some will gnaw sores, blisters and portionsof their bodies that are irritated from any cause some will untie theirhalters and unhook fastenings of doors with their teeth; some will gorgetheir food, taking larger mouthfuls and eating faster than is consistentwith their welfare; some will eat up their bedding, and by so doing,keep themselves out of condition for road or trotting purposes. Somehorses are vicious and bite their attendants and some horses bite theirmates.

It is my aim to construct a flexible combination muzzle that may be usedwholly or in part, according to the vice to be corrected, and accomplishthe sought for object, yet afford to the animal all possible comfort andliberty. While doing so, I am aware that other muzzles and contrivanoeshave been made with a View to prevent a part only of the aforementionedvices; but, on account of the material of which they are constructed andthe manner and form of construction, they are rigid, heavy and.unwieldly affairs, are a source of torture to the animal and only inpart accomplish the results claimed for them.

For instance, any form of box muzzle constructed of textile fabric,leather or integral material is sufiooating and uncomfortable to theanimal and will not permithim to eat or drink with it on, even though itmay prevent the aforesaid vices.

A muzzle known as the Spooner muzzle, with open, adjustable bottom,though it will, in part only, prevent some of the aforesaid vices, beingconstructed of thick sole leather and cast iron is rigid, heavy andcumbersome, does not and cannot be made to give proper ventilation; itconfines a carbonic acid gas exhaled by the horse, prevents the ingressof oxygen, compels him to rebreathe the same air and causes him to fightthe appliance; on account of its rigidity it chafes and galls the noseand jaw of the horse when, in the act of finding his food or feeding,the bottom of the muzzle is pressed against the bottom of the manger andthe muzzle forced up about the face as the horse attempts to reach thefood through the bottom; and its rigidity also permits the horse, byturning his head and pressing the bottom of the muzzle against theblanket as it hangs down his sides, to force the fold of the blanket upinto the muzzle, take hold of it with his teeth and tear itinto shreds;an act which the flexible character of my muzzle will always prevent,inasmuch as the lower portion will drop down over the mouth and comebetween it and the blanket, irrespective of the position of the head.

Another form of muzzle known as the Gillespie blanket muzzle while itmight prevent a horse from taking hold of a blanket at or near hischest, cannot prevent him from placing his nose against his side andrubbing downward, which will lift the apron away from the mouth andpermit the animal to take hold of the blanket with his teeth and tearit; neither can it prevent him from reaching to his hip, as many horseswill, and seize the blanket with his teeth; the sides of the apronspreading apart and falling away from his nose when he reaches around tohis flanks or hips; and it is not claimed for the Gillespie muzzle thatit will prevent any vice except that of tearing blanket-neither will itdo so.

Another form of muzzle is the stiff wire one and its rigidity causes itto bend or break when brought in contact with any hard substance, thebent and broken parts being forced against and into the animals face andnose, thus making that form of muzzle a dangerous one.

While all the objectionable features of other known muzzles are overcomein my flexible combination muzzle every object sought for and butpartially attained by all other muzzles is effectually accomplished byit, and it will prevent vices that cannot be and are not claimed to beprevented by any other form of muzzle; besides which itis light ofweight and does not burthen the animal; it is flexible, conforms to theshape of the face and nose and yields when brought in contact withobjects; it is cleanly, its open character allowing it to retain nofilth; it is cool and comfortable, there being nothing about itsconstruction to prevent the animal from breathing as Well as when it isoff; and its many points of superiority will recommend it from ahumanitarian as well as from a utilipatent over that of all othermuzzles.

The object of my invention is to provide a muzzle constructed in such amanner that it becomes a part of the halter, or it may be adjusted toany halter or bridle; that it may be adjusted to difierent sized heads;that it will be light in weight; be well ventilated and not obstruct thebreathing of the animal or confine the exhaled breath; be flexible andconform to the shape of the face and nose, thus preventing chafing orgalling; that it will permit an animal to eat hay, grain or grass, ordrink, yet will effectually prevent horses, under any circumstances,irrespective of the position of the head, from tearing blankets orbandages, gnawing sores, blisters, or itching portions of the bodycaused by skin humors, gnawing mangers, posts, trees, &c., cribbing,untying halters or removing fastenings from doors, gorging their food,biting themselves, their attendants or other horses, and,

with an extra bowl-shaped shallow appliance attached to the band of themuzzle and fitted about thenose, prevent horses from eating theirbedding; also to provide a flexible muzzle foroxen and other animalsthat will be comfortable, not'chafe or gall, bend or break, yet willprevent them from eating when it is worn.

Referring to the drawings, similar letters will be found to indicatesimilar parts in the different figures.

A is the band of the muzzle to which the chains B are attached by meansof rivets, staples or other suitable means, which band is provided witha buckle b, with other straps and buckles b? and with rings 1).

13 represents the chains forming the sides or-wall of the muzzle nothanging pendent but confined inwardly by other chains A attached to andrunning horizontally about them.

A represents chains passing horizontally around the chains B andattached to them, each succeeding chain A, from the top of the muzzledownward, being shorter in length, thus restricting the hanging of thechains B and lessening the circumference of the wall or sides of themuzzle and causing such wall or sides totaper toward the bottom until anopening 0 is formed at the bottom sufficiently small to prevent thehorse from projecting his teeth and biting or seizing hold of anyobject, yet large enough to permit him to project his lips and gatherhis food.

In Fig. 4, 0 represents a bowl-shaped appliance constructed of leatheror textile fabric, provided with straps and buckles with which to fastenit up about the nose of the horse to the rings 12, and provided withholes 0, opposite the nostrils of the horse to afford perfectventilation.

Referring to Fig. 1, my flexible combination muzzle and halter is seenadjusted to the horses head. It is apparent at once that, by having thechains attached to and made a part of the halter, the horse is relievedof the weight of the extra band and attachments shown in Fig. 3. It isapparent that the flexible character of the material of which the muzzleis constructed allows it to conform to the shape of the nose andpresents no rigid surface to constantly rub against the jaw or nose andchafe or gall. It will be seen too that the most perfect ventilation isafforded. Then, considering that horses, except those that gorge theirfood, gather their food into their mouths with their lips,it is obviousthat when he reaches down to eat hay,.grain or grass, the flexiblecharacter and the shape of the muzzle permits the chains to pile upabout and outside of the opening 0 through which the horse can gatherfood with his lips,

and the act of gathering foodwill not force 7 bottom, the chains in nowise preventing; yet it will be seen that if he should attempt to bite ablanket or bandage, or any portion of his body, no matter what theposition of his head may be, or what part of his body he should reach,the lower parts of the chains would drop over his mouth and effectuallyprevent such vices. In the case of a horse that gorges his food, one canreadily see that, when feeding, the grain will tumble and work in towardthe mouth through the chains, yet he cannot seize large mouthfuls. It isalso apparent that a vicious horse cannot bite his keeper or otherhorses, and stallions cannot bite mares during service; and in cases ofvicious biters that will attack an attendant when a muzzle is removed,preparatory to bridling, the open character of my muzzle permits of abridle being put on without removing the muzzle, by unbuokling one sideof the bit from the bridle and passing the bit through the meshes of themuzzle into the month, which can be done with no other form of muzzle.And my muzzle can be worn anywhere without detracting from theappearance of the animal, and will prevent gnawing of trees, posts,fences, mangers, disc, and prevent a horse from cribbing by getting histeeth against any object. it

Referring to Fig. 2,1 show my flexible combination muzzle with theshallow, bowl-shaped appliance secured over the nose of the horse. Thisextra bowl is used only to prevent a horse from eating his bedding andis placed on after feeding. This bowl closes that portion of the muzzleabout the mouth only, the holes opposite the nostrils and the opencharacter of the muzzle above the bowl giving all ventilation possiblewhile efiecting the sought-for object, yet when the bowl is removed, thehorse cannot indulge in other vices, as many are in the habit of doing.It may be constructed in combination with a halter, as in Fig. 1, or ona band A with adj usting buckles b and provided with straps and buckles12 The flexible character of this muzzlemakes it comfortable to theanimal and prevents its jamming or breaking as frequently happens withstifi wire muzzles, the bent or broken portions forcing themselves intothe face or nose of the animal, thereby causing great pain and torture,while the joining of the chains B to a small chain around the bottomprevents the animal from reaching out his tongue and drawing in grass,hay, grain, &c.

It will be seen that the detachable bottom may be mounted over either ofthe forms shown, and its use will not be interfered with by the chains.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a muzzle for animals, the combination of a nose band having chainsdepending therefrom, and a lower detachable bottom portion removablymounted over said chains and having attaching straps secured theretothat are attached to said nose band, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 20th day ofJanuary, 1892.

WM. H. SANBORN.

Witnesses:

BERNARD A. CONOLLY, WILLIE A. SANBoRN.

